Rubber heel



May 19, 1925. 1,538,332

L. KAPLAN RUBBER HEEL Filed June 29, 1923 Patented May 19, 1925.

LoiIIs KPLA'N, or' vonk', 1v'.

RUBBER rient.

applicati@ filed Jane 29; 1923. sensi N6. 6483184.

kor cushionk heels, and one. object of the invention is the provision of such a heel having portions of different kinds. of rubber or resilient material to-increase-the wearing. properties and resilience ofthe heel, and formed with grooves for portionswliereby to equalize the wear .and-.resilience between said` portions.

Another object isv the .provision inV the heel, at the point where the greatest wear occurs, of an. insertcoinposed of vmetals or other vmaterials having different degreesof hardness, `whereby to effectively resist the wearing or running do'wno'f the heel.'

lVith the foregning and other objects in view, whiclrwill be apparent as the description proceeds, the 'invention resides in the construction and `arrangement of parts, as hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes can be made within the scope of Vwhat is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein- Figure l is a bottom plan view of the improved heel.

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

The heel or other tread member to be applied to a shoe or other article of footwear yis composed of the halves or portions 7 and 8 at the opposite sides of and united along Athe longitudinal median line of the heel. The division line between the halves or portions, however, may be at different positions, with said portions of different sizes. The portion 7 is composed of oomparatively hard but resilient rubber while the portion 8 is composed of comparatively soft rubber, although other resilient materials may be used, the term rubber, being used with suoli broad meaning as to include equivalents.

The heel is attached to the shoe or article of footwear with the soft rubber portion 8 at the outer side of the foot and the hard rubber portion 7 at the inner or arch side of the foot, whereby when standing with the heel fiat on the surface, the portion 7 provides a iiini although resilient support. The portion 7 provides for an effective' cushioning' act-ion in walking, such portion 8 coming into Contact withl the surface first., and receiving the greatest pressure of impact. Also, by iisingthe` two different grades of rubber or other ina-te.-

rial, oiie-coniparatively soft and the other comparatively hard, the wearing properties of the heel are increased. Thuston some surfaces the soft rubber portion Svniay tend to wear away more quickly,fwhereas the harder rubber portion, 7 will resist such wear, and on other surfaces' the portion 7 may tend to wear away quicker while the portion Savill resist such wear. In this way, wearing ,down ofthe heel is not so 'fast as.. with a heel composed of the same kind ofi material, and the wear is also distributed between the two portions 7 and- 8. In some cases the heel is .worn away quicker at the inner or arch side, in which event the heelunayy be applied with the softer portion 8 at the inner or arch side ofthe foot.

In order to equalize, as much as possible, the wear and resilience between the portions 7 and 8, the tread surface of the heel is provided with U-shaped grooves or channels 9 which have their terminals extending forwardly and terminating adjacent to the forward end or breast of the heel, with one terminal of each groove ending in the portion 7 and the other terminal ending in the portion 8. Said grooves are arranged with their terminals disposed side by side in the respective portions 7 and 8, with the intermediate portions of the grooves crossing or intersecting one another near but spaced from the rear end of the heel.

The ends l0 of the grooves 9 in the portion 8 are narrow and shallow, and are spaced apart further than the ends or terminals 1l in the portion 7, and said terminals ll are comparatively7 wide and deep. The grooves 9 decrease gradually in width and depth from the ends 1l to the ends 10, whereby the wearing qualities of the heel are gradually decreased from the ends 10 of the grooves 9 in the portion 8 to the ends ll of the grooves in the portion 7, and, conversely, whereby the resilience afforded by the grooves decreases from the ends 11 to the ends of said grooves. The deeper and wider portions of the grooves will lend resilience to the portion 7, as well as enabling said portion to wear away quicker, it being noted that the portion 8 has broad tread surfaces between the grooves 9 while the portion 7 has narrow tread surfaces between said grooves. In this way, the grooves render the portion 7 more resilient, although the material of said portion is comparatively hard, and the grooves also have a tendency to equalize the wear between the hard and soft portions, so that the heel will have a tendency to wear down evenly or uniformly` The grooves may also assist in preventing slipping of the heel on wet or slippery surfaces, although same is secondary.

An insert 13 is provided in the heel at the point where the most wear occurs, and, as shown, the insert 13 is disposed in the rear end portion of the portion 8 in an oblique position. The insert 13 is composed of the outer half or piece 14 of suitable hard metal and the inner half or piece 15 of suitable soft metal, said pieces being welded or otherwise secured together. The insert 13 is thickened or widened, as at 16, between its ends, to offer greater resistance where subjected to the greatest wear. The hard portion or piece 14 of insert is disposed outermost or nearest to the margin of the heel to receive the brunt of the burden in resisting wear.

By having the insert composed of the hard and soft metals or materials, the insert can better withstand wear under different conditions. On some surfaces, the hard piece or portion 14 may resist wear better than the piece or portion 15, whereas on other surfaces the portion 15 may better resist wear, so that the two materials assist one another in resisting wear under different conditions. The insert may be at different positions so as to be disposed at the point where the rundown of the heel usually occurs.

The insert 13 has a flange 18 embedded in the rubber, whereby to anchor the insert in place, to prevent same from being loosened or lost.

The nail holes 17 are disposed adjacent to the margin of the heel, for securing the heel to the shoe or other article of foot wear, and those nail holes 17 at the opposite sides are located in those arms of the grooves 9 adjacent to said sides of the heel.

There are three. grooves 9 in the tread of the heel as shown, but the number of grooves may vary with heels of different sizes. For example, small heels, such as used on ladies shoes, may have only one or two grooves.

I-Iaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. A heel, and an insert in the heel at the point where the most wear occurs and composed of pieces of relatively hard and soft metals.

2. A heel, and an insert in the heel at the point where the most wear occurs and com posed of pieces of relatively hard and soft metals secured together, with the hard piece disposed toward the margin of the heel.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afX my signature.

LOUIS KAPLAN. 

